But that looks so easy! There must be a catch. Didn't I read about somebody in this thread trying to shave a couple of millimeters off his card and breaking it?
Can anybody else confirm that this is working well?

Ola, Transcend cards definitely cannot be shortened, as the circuit board sits almost flush to the border of its plastic case. I tried and bricked one that way.

It's shocking that Sandisk is so different.

I guess I'll order one and try shortening it!

Somebody try that with a Transcend card - they're cheaper!

Ronn,
As just mentioned above, you can not shorten the Transcend.

And apparently only a rumor...
You can actually buy these right from Kensington for $40 USD:
7-in-1 Media Reader for ExpressCard® slot

They are in stock. They listed these out of stock a couple weeks ago.
So, it sure appears they are still building these cards.
In anything, if they notice an increase in sale orders from their dealers, they may just keep making them. I'm sure they've seen the sales boost on this card.

I spoke with eXpansys AU a couple of days ago. The Kensington adaptors are now in the USA. Significant numbers will be in Australia shortly.

Apparently the San Disk cards are not all the same. Not only are my 16 GB cards not translucent, like the card on the demo video, but when I chopped the end off of one of them the cut went thru what looks like a brittle bakelite circuit board. So, that's all kind of hanging out in the breeze now. The card still works fine- plays the files already on the card, will record, camera says its got 58 min, etc. but I'm thinking- one drop of moisture on the cut end may well do it in.

Robert, Peter Kraft's link (page 64 of this thread) shows photo of the Sandisk card's intestines, and clearly there's some kind of shiny board inside.

The guy in the video insists it can be cut without any effect on functionality.

If so, Robert's concern still stands: how do we deal with the open end where the cut was made?

I'd seal the cut with something non-conductive, like hot glue or alike.

Glue might do it, but I think I'll just leave the door open and not cut any more cards for the time being. I have a feeling a more suitable solution is percolating around out there. Just a matter of time.
Actually, I just used 3 coats of clear fingernail polish (Sally Hansen, Hard as Nails) and it looks nicely sealed- should be fairly durable too. We'll see.
Jeez... Sony must be watching all of this in horror.

cutting it is just perfect, why would you wait for a more suitable solution? actually what would be a more suitable solution? a new door perhaps?
maybe just wait a week for the new Sandisk Ultra II Nano

That's very odd Robert, that your sandisk is different. It wouldn't happen to be the 30mb/s version would it?


The translucent card I halved was the Sandisk Ultra II SDHC 15MB/s 16GB. Which is still working awesome by the way. As for sealing up the end, I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's literally some solid state chips and the conductors on the outside of the card. There's a reason people accidentally put these things through the laundry and they still work fine! Sealing it up is still probably a good idea though, never know what could get in there.

Herminio
Somehow, after actually cutting it, this solution seems less than ideal. The open door is not a critical problem for me, but the integrity of the recording media is. Maybe cutting and sealing as I have done will not effect longevity, or resistance to moisture, dust, etc., but I don't know that right now. A very nice solution would be Kensington making a card reader that is a couple of mm shorter, or San Disk making the SD card a little shorter. At some point the actual Express Cards will be as cheap as the SDHC arrangement.

Jon
It's the 16GB card.
All the imprint info on the front of the card is identical to the one in the video, but it is absolutely opaque black plastic, and what I can see thru the cut end looks like a circuit board. It is actually working just fine in the EX, but does seem different from the one that was demo chopped in the video

Well that sure is strange, it would be nice to get to the bottom of this to prevent any future circuit board chomping. So you're sure that your card is not the 30MB/s version? Also, does your card have a circled 4 on it? (might be the revision number)

Robert, you are a doctor which brings me to the idea,
why not x-ray the sdhc card(s) and only shorten it/them
if possible.
I asked at my othopaedic doctor's and they'd be willing
to do me that favor. Why not?

Thanks Steven - that post was not up when I posted :)

Getting my adapter next week, now how much slower are the downloads with these cards, or is it? Usually just going from PC laptop to client's portable HD.

Can't cut or shave the Transcends, i just tried it.
The card is full all the way.
The components inside have Samsung written on them.

Paul.

Jon,
the circled four stands for a class four card. All of the Ultra II 15MB/s cards are class 4.

Tz, tz.

See here:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/966053-post961.html

Handy tip after shaving your card
 

I shaved my Sandisk Extreme III card and found it difficult pull it out the Kensington media reader. By sticking a small piece of tape at the shaved end of the card I created a small 'handle' that can be folded away the close the door of the EX1.

http://72.167.78.60/DSC_0414.JPG

I just noticed that the Kensington adapter is discontinued on the B&H site.


kensington reader | B&H Photo Video

Or Sony bought and destroyed all available inventory ;)

You can order them right from Kensingon. They are in stock.

I have yet to try any of the 32gb SDHC cards on the market. While I have a SanDisk on order, SanDisk is really not commenting on availability of their 32gb offering.

There are 32gb SDHC offerings from Kingston, PNY, Delkin and even a very pricey Panasonic class 6 card.

Has anyone tried any of these cards yet?

I don't trust the UltraII
 

I own one Sandisk ExtremeIII that has been serving me without problems. I also own a 16 GB Sandisk UltraII card. In fact this is a replacement card for my first UltraII that was not to be trusted at all.

This second card has been working well for a couple of days but yesterday when I was shooting in -1 degrees centrigrades and doing a timelapse, when I pressed "playback last clip" after finishing the timelaps the camera said that the media needed to be restored. The card then stopped working. I could not restore it since I never got that option. I tried pulling the card out and pack in and toggling between camera and playback mode. The card could not be read.

When I got back I tried reading it in my laptop without success but after trying with both the SD-reader in my laptop and the Kensington adapter and also rebooting the computer, the card finally showed up. The material was all there and now it seems to be working again.

However, I have lost a lot of faith in the SDHC solution. In the discussions on this thread it seems like when people get restore media-messages they seem to get the option to restore. What does it mean when the camera says that the card needs to be restored and then does not offer this option?

Also - I am certain that I am using genuine Sandisk media. It is not an e-bay-fake.

Any thoughts?

Maybe not to shoot timelapse in -1C weather. :)
Actually, that's just barely below freezing, so I doubt that was an issue.

I have been using four Kensingtons with SanDisk cards everyday for four months with not one error.

Ola, with your luck, it may be time for you to go back to SxS.
Having said that, problems can happen.
Someone just reported yesterday on the "other" forum that their P2 card gave a "incompatible card" error and will not allow it to format.
He was shooting with his HPX170.

I've just written to Kensington's PR firm under my "press" credentials to see if they can offer any official comment on the status of the card or possible replacement. I'll post if I get an answer.

Very interesting. Do you think they will answer?

Generally, PR firms will at least acknowledge a press contact. I would imagine that it would take a bit to get a response since the PR firm would need to contact the appropriate product manager at Kensington who may or may not choose to respond. It's worth a try and my writer status does open lots of doors. I find most often that the best way of getting information from a company is through its PR firm or in-house PR dept.

Being a writer myself, I know what you mean.
Nevertheless, best luck,

Has anyone tried this

Welcome to Transcend Website - Transcend Releases its New ExpressCard/34 Solid State Disk, Up to 16GB

Can be ordered here:
Transcend 16GB Express Card Solid State Drive TS16GSSD34E-M at TigerDirect.com

Transcend Releases its New ExpressCard/34 Solid State Disk, Up to 16GB
if its what i think it is it should work on the EX1 with the door closed
if indeed it will work.

It has been noted several times on this board. The SSD DOES NOT work.

Just curious: which version of the Sandisk card- Ultra II or Extreme III?

With the apparent demise of the Kensington 7 in 1 (no confirmation yet from Kensington PR but Kensington customer service says discontinued), I did a last-ditch test today of other adapters.

I bought SIIg, i-dot-connect, and Delkin ExpressCard adapters today and gave each a try.

The good news-- The SIIG fits in the EX-1 and allows closing the door.

The bad news-- neither the EX-1 nor the EX-3 would recognize any of these cards. No problem recognizing Kensington.

I anxiously await a report on the Chinese cards on eBay. Hopefully they will work. But I still wouldn't feed them to dog or baby.

Ned, I just learnt that SIIG does offer various different Expresscard adapters. USB and PCIe-based ones.
Please post the item number of your card, just to exclude that SIIG adapters don't work at all.

I'm using both.
The new 30MB/s Exteme III & the Ultra II 15MB/s

And just to be clear, I meant to write almost three months, not four.

Good catch, Peter

The model number on the card is 02-0393A and part number after sn is CE-E01012-S1

Interestingly, the card I bought was labeled ExpressCard 11-in-1

The SIIG website shows this card labeled 12-in-1 but with identical part number.

It is definitely worth trying the 12-in-1, Will look for one.

Ned Soltz

Ned, press releases concerning the different express card adapters
can be found here: http://siig.com/PressRelease.aspx?prid=52

Just in case a few of you missed Ross Herwini's post re another card adapter that works, here's a link.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Laptop-ExpressCa...742.m153.l1262

I originally ordered 2 of these as I couldn't get the Kensington's here in OZ.
I have had no problems other than not being able to fully close the door on my EX3 but a tab of velcro basically does the same thing and the door "looks" closed.
The other bonus is they are dirt cheap!

cheers, Evan

ps, overcrank I get about 50 frames before an error